


SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK

by ze_z_zi



Series: Trainer Ze [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Secret Relationship, Slow Dancing, this is the fluffiest thing I've written and it's still kind of sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24017998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ze_z_zi/pseuds/ze_z_zi
Summary: Don't follow me, you'll end up in my arms--Ze is usually the one crying in his arms.
Relationships: Kibana | Raihan/Original Character(s), Kibana | Raihan/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Trainer Ze [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582903
Kudos: 4





	SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK

**Author's Note:**

> i saw art of Raihan crying on twitter and i wrote this

Raihan can still hear the orchestra playing for the room as he sits alone. It’s not uncommon, the band shifting to slower music, the atmosphere of galas turning soft and romantic as couples dance together. He’s been putting up with this since he was fifteen and took over the gym from his parents, but it’s never been so obnoxious before. 

It’s  _ always  _ been obnoxious and unbearable, but it’s worse now. He used to have Leon to bide time with. They used to sneak out of ballrooms to the other unoccupied rooms lining the halls or to the bathroom if they were particularly desperate in trying to dodge Oleana. Either way, it had always been them. Now, Leon has Xiao to step out onto the floor with. They can dance the night away, led by soft violins and airy flutes. 

It leaves Raihan in the awkward position of having no one. It’s not like Piers attends these events anymore. He was the only other person that had a similar attitude to him about slow dancing, or well, he was the only person as vocal about his distaste for it.

Even now, standing by himself in a dark and empty ballroom, he knows he’s not alone. He tells himself he’s just being dramatic. There’s plenty of people that would kill for a chance to dance with him. Gala benefactors and League sponsors, young and old, but he isn’t too keen on dancing with someone other than Ze. 

It’s silly, feeling like this over something as meaningless as dancing, but now that he’s in a relationship it feels wrong to do something so intimate with another person. Although both of them have danced with others at past events, that's their job: being available. Available for business, to the public, to total strangers. 

Raihan does his best to not think of his job in such a cynical manner, but it’s hard to pretend that his position doesn’t come with plenty—

“Raihan?” 

He startles and jumps, ready to launch into an explanation as to why he’s by himself, away from the party. It’s Ze, though. 

He expected Leon or Xiao to come looking for him before anyone else. Something told him Ze wouldn’t notice his disappearance. She’s the Champion. The star of these events. She’d be too busy talking to her sponsors, brightening up a boring party to notice him. That was his plan at least. 

She’s here, however, standing in the doorway of the ballroom. 

He can’t make out her face too well. The only real source of light for the room is coming from the moon and the light pouring in from the hall behind her. She sounded concerned, though. He can imagine her looking around in someone else’s arms, searching for him in the sea of faces wearing that cute little pout of hers. It makes him uncomfortably warm, but he welcomes it all the same. It’s nice when it’s for her. 

Everything seems so nice when it involves Ze. He wonders if this is how she feels, if she’s as lovestruck as he is. 

He can make out her dress well enough in the low light. Ze stands out at these black tie events, she’s always in some shade of pink. Now that she’s getting close to eighteen people are starting to wonder if it’s childish for her to wear the same color so often, especially a color like pink. Bright and happy, soft and cute in comparison to the deep jewel tones or the sharp neutrals so many other women wear to galas. 

He can’t help but think of how often Leon wears red. How that tendency has become deliberate with Xiao at his side, her outfits matching the pops of red in his suits or his battle tower outfit. No one questions them the same way Raihan and Ze are questioned. From their proximity to wearing a specific color, it’s nothing but watchful eyes and invasive, accusatory questions. 

It’s not fair, but nothing is. He clenches his hand and bites back the urge to cough. 

The light fades and dies behind Ze as she closes the door behind her. He’s no longer alone, but the distance seems so great between them. Neither of them can relax around each other. They have to be ready to pull away, the concerns of the public coming before familiarity and comfort. If they lower their guard, they’ll get caught. 

“Are you okay?”

“I never stick around for the slow dances.”  _ Unless I have to,  _ goes unsaid. 

She hums and steps into the room, closer and closer. She’s just a dark silhouette in an already dark room, a living shadow drifting across a marble sea to him. Her heels echo through the room, bouncing off the walls and managing to overtake the music at some points. Her gait is unsteady, but it has been two hours of her on her feet. 

“What about you, Champ? You usually grin and bear it at least.” He sees her shoulders rise and her hands slip behind her back. She looks so small. 

“...I didn’t want to dance tonight,” She’s finally crossed the room, standing right in front of him. 

It’s quiet between them as he turns back to his original position facing the moon. She steps up to his side to join him. He’s about to reach into his pocket for his phone before Ze slips her hand into his.

He stiffens, but she ignores it as she leans against him, her head against his arm. Her other hand comes up to wrap around his bicep. There’s a surge of pride as she gives his arm a firm squeeze, obviously feeling his muscles through his suit. 

It’s so sudden. Having her here, then this intimacy. It’s all too much so fast, so he does what he does best. 

He chuckles and says, “Man, this shit never ends, does it?”

Ze looks up at him, smiling. He’s not sure if it’s the way the moonlight hits her, but her eyes are bright and sparkling as she looks at him. Her hair is pulled up and away from her face in a cute ponytail. Her curls hang loose, bouncing with every little move she makes. Her eyes cut away from him, looking off to the side and her smile tightens. 

“I don’t know...It’s kind of romantic, don’t you think?” She’s looking at him again and she squeezes his hand. 

That’s how they end up slow dancing. 

It’s not good. Their steps are a little off beat with them not being able to hear the music too well and Ze stumbles every once in a while. She’s tired and her feet must hurt by now. He knows she doesn’t have the best endurance and she’s never been the best in heels. Raihan picks up her slack, taking a stronger lead than he usually would. It’s still awkward. In her heels, she’s still a whole seven inches shorter than him, but it’s by no means the most dramatic height difference he’s worked around. 

They shouldn’t be running this kind of risk, but he’s never been good at denying Ze. He denied her and himself for two years and look at how that turned out. They ended up together before she turned eighteen anyway.

The music continues to drift through the air, settling against him like a weight on his back. Something that should be making him feel lighter than air seems to be a death sentence more than anything else. This is a special moment for them, they never get to be together like this. He should be cherishing this time they’ve managed to steal, however all he can think about is how much longer they have to wait for another dance like this. 

If they  _ do  _ get another dance before then, it will have to be like this. In the dark. In some lonely room away from everyone else. He wants to cry when he thinks about it.

He does. 

Raihan crumbles against Ze, leaning down to tuck his face to her bare shoulder as the tears begin to fall. He pulls his hand from hers to wrap his arms around her soft waist, pulling her even closer somehow. The fabric of her dress is cool in his hands, but he can feel her body heat seeping through it. He distantly worries that he’s hurting her, but she doesn’t say anything. She reaches up to loop her arms around his neck, holding him close as he cries. 

She doesn’t ask why he’s crying as they dance. He figures she knows why already. She’s cried countless times about their situation too. 

Again, it’s silly. Maybe being a celebrity has spoiled him, it’s just a bit of waiting, but it feels like an eternity of hiding and putting their feelings to the test. 

It started as them trying to be responsible. 

Ze was a traumatized fifteen year old that loved him before they even met, he was eighteen and her knight in shining armor. They both knew the kind of slippery slope that set up for their relationship and neither wanted to ruin something that could be good. 

Now, it just feels like a punishment. 

He doesn’t know if Ze still feels the same or if she’s managed to move on from such negative emotions, but he understands her jealousy towards Leon and Xiao more and more each day. The bitterness turning to hate and having to remember just who he’s hating. Constantly checking himself for something that neither Leon nor Xiao can be blamed for. It’s not right for him to hate his friends for something like a relationship, but there are times when he can’t escape them. Can’t escape thinking about two lonely years of trying his best to care for someone he cared about. 

He only cries harder thinking about it, thinking about their friends in a situation all too similar, but different enough that it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. Their age difference didn’t matter. Three years don’t seem to mean as much when it’s seventeen and twenty versus fifteen and eighteen. Ze seventeen now, so why can’t he accept that with the same grace he accepted Leon and Xiao?

Ze still seems too small, too fragile. As if she’ll break as easily as him. 

Somehow, though, he  _ likes _ hiding with her. Secrets are so rare and hard to keep in their profession that it always gives him a thrill being able to be with her dancing on the edge of their spotlights. It sounds romantic in theory, a love affair tucked into the shadows, two people with longing gazes standing at opposite ends of a room. Really, it’s just tiring and a sure fire way to feel alone in a room full of people. 

The music fades out with them still in each other’s arms, sticking to the rhythm they made for themselves. No one comes to collect them, but they can’t pretend for too much longer. They have to get back to the gala. He wishes he could stay in her arms for the whole night. He’s safe here in his champion’s arms. 

Neither of them feel like leaving this room. Raihan knows that if he suggested leaving, riding Flygon out of this place and back to one of their homes, Ze would agree.

Raihan heads back first, he’s been gone the longest. 

**Author's Note:**

> if you got this far, please consider leaving a kudos or comment! :3


End file.
